Chaos Theory
by droidgirl
Summary: Years after the war, people who would have seen Azula on the throne, and the Fire Nation in power rise up. The heroes involved in the first conflict, have to face the consequences of their actions committed as children, one way or another.
1. Chapter 1

* * *

It smelt like blood, tears and all manner of human refuse that one never encountered, growing up in the Imperial Palaces.

She remembers the stench from her time in the other jail at the Boiling Rock, the one where she had been kept by the very woman she was visiting. _Although the term 'visiting' would imply that it was simply a pleasurable afternoon appointment, and nothing could have been further from the truth_, she thought wryly to herself.

What she would sooner forget of course, was the skin crawling numbness of knowing she was in prison, the last place she had ever thought she would be in. The sensation of having everything ripped from her; all rights, all freedom, all priveledges. Trapped within a tiny room, a threadbare, flea ridden cot for a bed, and endless hours with nothing to do besides staring at the door. No windows even, to ease the monotony of the dull, dirty walls. From her cell, she could hear the other prisoners; she heard the women cry out, recognized a voice even. The voice of that Kyoshi girl shouting in futile defiance against her stronger captors, the sounds of her struggle. On the tiny bed, legs crossed and shivering, dirty and scratching at flea bites, Mai learnt the meaning of guilt and fear. She understood what it meant to become nothing; less than nothing.

No one touched her; no one dared to, because prisoner or not, she was nobility. _Or_, she mused, _perhaps no one wanted to_. None had ever accused her of great beauty.

This prison however, the one where they kept her, the woman whom she had once counted friend and confidante. If it was possible, this prison was worse. Less guarded true, but why would was there a need to post more soldiers? Its denizens were but broken shells of themselves after all. The halls were darker, and the darkness seemed to cling to her, more with every step that she took. She wondered which one held the man who was once called Phoenix King, who had once controlled the fate of the world.

Just as she had decided that if she took another step into this abyss, she was going to run out screaming, the guard in front of her stopped and unlocked the door. She breathed deeply, trying not to gag, and passed the threshold of the cell.

At first, she thought it was a mistake. The cage before her was empty but for lumps of what she thought was bedding. And then, a lump twitched, and she yelped in fright, jumping back.

"Don't be afraid. I'm right outside. She can't hurt anyone...her hands are bound." the guard, a female one, said gently.

Mai breathed hard, and nodded, wide eyed. The guard left her alone, shutting the door behind her. Slowly, the fine robed young woman approached the cage. She could now see glimpses of bone white skin peeking out here and there. Dull eyes peered between thick locks of matted hair which concealed much of the prisoner's face, eyes which took on a gleam as they recognized who the approaching visitor was.

"How nice of you come by." the Royalty's voice rasped. "I've missed you, friend. For a moment I thought you were a guard come to take pleasure in the Fire Nation Princess"

Mai winced.

"Do you know why you were never raped when I had you kept in a cell at the Boiling Rock? Because **_I_** told the guards not to. Because **_I_** still thought of you as a dear friend even though you betrayed me for my brother." the woman spat, rising from her spot on the ground like a horrible specter in rags that revealed more pale skin than covered it. Mai looked away, strangely embarrassed; she had seen the Princess's body in the bathhouses, in the private pools of the palace. But to see it in this squalor...

Her face flushed in guilt - she had never even thought of the possibility that her body had been safe because of Azula. Truth is, she had not even considered that this might have become the plight of her childhood friend in these three years since the war ended. At first, it was spite that had kept any thoughts of the Fire Nation Princess away from her. And then spite had faded, leaving a certain guilt; the same guilt that had driven her to this stinking prison.

"I didn't know. I will tell Zu..."

"Don't you dare say his name in my presence!" the deranged girl screamed. She had thought Azula cruel and ruthless; now she could see the madness radiating from the woman in the cage.

Mai fell silent. Azula watched her with narrowed eyes, until suddenly, an odd and disconcerting smile touched her lips.

"Did he send you here?" she asked, her voice suddenly sickly sweet.

"No. I came because I thought perhaps there was some way I could reach you. Turn you back into the friend I thought I knew. I think I have made a mistake." Mai replied, turning to go.

"Tell me, how's my brother's girlfriend?" Azula asked. "That little Water Tribe peasant girl? Pretty little thing. He almost died for her you know?"

Mai froze in her tracks, right in front of the tiny jail cell's exit.

"You should have seen his face when he thought I was going to kill her." the imprisoned woman laughed, stepping close to the edge of her cage. "It was beautiful and so very sweet. All that terror. My dear brother in love; I was so touched I almost cried."

The noblewoman said nothing, back rigid.

"Oh, but I forget. You're in love with him aren't you? Wasn't that why you betrayed me?" Azula asked, voice like poisoned honey.

"What do you know of love Azula?" Mai asked at last, and rapped on the door to the cell sharply. The door opened immediately. Mai turned to look at what remained of her childhood friend one last time.

"I know it hurts _you_." the caged woman said sharply, all pretensions of sweetness leaving as quickly as it had appeared. Bitterness marring the still beautiful, if haggard and dirty face. "And thats all I will ever need to know."

Head held high, Mai began to walk away. As the door began to creak close, leaving the disgraced Princess to her madness and her solitude, Azula called out,

"And you can tell him that this prison will not hold me forever."

The door slammed shut with an ominously loud noise.

* * *

Mai kissed Zuko on the cheek when she saw him later at dinner time, noting his tired features. He looked so much older, she thought, so different from the hot headed young boy she had known.

"I hate being Fire Lord." he grumbled, slumping into his chair while servants bustled around them. Like magic, wine appeared by his hand.

"I'm sure Sokka will not mind taking over." she replied mildly, sipping on her own drink.

Sokka, the Fire Nation's unlikely new Star General.

"Can you imagine the awful jokes he'll use in his speeches?" Zuko said, quirking an eyebrow and smirking at her good naturedly.

Yes, she definitely preferred this Zuko who was so much less embittered, and knew how to smile.

"How was your day?"

As she contemplated a good reply that involved saying that his deranged and homicidal sister was getting raped by prison guards, a loud horn was blown, and a Crier announced,

"Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe has arrived."

Mai looked towards the doorway of the dining room, and sure enough, the peasant girl turned Warrior-Healer in service of all four nations was walking in. Her long hair that had once hung straight down her back in a girlish braid was now gathered in a messy bun behind her head; her clothes were travel stained with dirt, plain but clearly made for comfort. And still she could not deny that the girl from the South Pole was beautiful and regal as any Princess. The noblewoman glanced at the man whom she counted lover. His face had lit up in a way that she had not seen in these past years; in the years that the Water Bender was traveling the world.

"Katara." Zuko breathed, standing up.

"I was in the neighbourhood." Katara smiled and waved gracelessly as she stepped closer to them. "I thought I'd drop in. Pardon the shabby attire."

"Don't be stupid." he laughed, stepping towards her with his hands outstretched. Easily, _too easily_, Mai thought as she watched, they fell into a hug. Zuko held her tightly in a way the woman still seated by the dining table did not remember ever experiencing. When they pulled away, the expressions on their faces made her feel as if she was intruding on an intensely private moment.

_But why would she be_, an irritated thought surfaced in her mind, _when it was the other who had interrupted their impending evening meal after all_.

"Lady Mai," Katara said at last, bowing in greeting to her. Mai forced herself to smile in greeting, but Azula's words in that cage was beginning to resonate in her mind.

"Prepare a room at once, and a hot bath for the Lady Katara," Zuko barked to a passing servant, before pushing Katara into one of the dining chairs.

"Oh a hot bath." the other woman groaned. "I would kill for that."

"Where have you been? How is Aang?" he asked excitedly.

"I have not spoken with Aang these past two years." her eyes were shadowed as she said this. "He has an entire Air Nomad Nation to rebuild."

"Ahh." Zuko nodded understandingly, compassionately. The hopeful gleam in his eye did not escape Mai's notice.

"As for myself, I find it my duty to report some disturbing news." Katara said, eyes suddenly graver than death. "I'm afraid this is not simply a casual visit. Troops are gathering Fire Lord Zuko. Entire factions of men and women within the Fire Nation who oppose your rule. Elsewhere, others who would have benefited from the Fire Nation's domination are rallying. Alliances are forming against you, and those who would see peace."

The ruler's face hardened.

"Summon General Sokka." Zuko called, and turned back to the water bender, all cheer gone. "Tell me more."

* * *

"If its a small rebellion, then its nothing we haven't dealt with before." Sokka said, chewing on his chicken.

"You're not listening." Katara said to her brother, frustration showing. "I have been helping out with the men at the frontiers. The enemy numbers grow all the time. Last time I lost at least twenty good men out there, and it was just a minor skirmish on the border of the Earth Kingdom. Earth benders with the crest of the Fire Nation."

"Fanatics. We have tons of those here who believe Azula should have been Fire Lord." her older brother replied waving away her concerns.

"You were in battle?" Zuko asked, looking at Katara with a frown. She ignored him, angry at her stubborn sibling.

"I have forgotten what a jackass you are." she said.

"I know you are, but what am I?" Sokka teased.

"Katara why didn't you send any of us messages when you were in danger?" Zuko demanded. On his other side, Mai sat silently, picking at her food.

"Because I can take care of myself." she said, finally shifting her sharp gaze from her brother to him.

"You need someone to watch your back." he said firmly, seriously.

"I am fine. I am a healer for goodness sake. Now can we get back to the issue at hand? People are dying, and enemies are moving." Katara repeated, looking between Zuko and Sokka. Her gaze rested at last on Mai.

They table fell silent, the diners gazing at one another.

"Well. I would say that everyone here has had a long day and we could all use some rest. Perhaps we should discuss this in the morning?" Mai said delicately.

Zuko nodded solemnly; the rest of the meal was completed in silence.

* * *

"Are you happy here Brother?" Katara asked, once Zuko had excused himself, citing state business, and Mai had returned to her parents home outside the palace.

"I suppose I am." Sokka replied thoughtfully. The jokester of their youth remained, but it was largely tampered by the responsibilites of duty he had placed upon his own shoulders.

"Father sends his regards, and his apology that he was not able come see his Grandson." Katara said.

"I suppose he's still angry that I had left again, to come serve in the Fire Nation's army." her brother replied with a humourless laugh.

"He has had time to realize that a man of your experience, and your strategic skills cannot be confined to a small tribe in the South Pole." she assured him.

"I remember going back after the war." Sokka's eyes took on a sheen of nostalgia. "I remember thinking that I never felt so closed in."

"Yes. I know. Why do you think I keep wandering?"

"At least I have settled down with Suki, with a family." he reprimanded gently. "What about you? Any word from Aang?"

The Water Bender sighed, exasperated.

"Have you people ever considered that he was a thirteen year old _monk_ when he declared his love for me?" she gritted out. This was fast becoming a source of irritation for her. Every missive from home, from her brother, involved the question of her marriage and her relationship with the Avatar.

"Has he changed his mind then?" Sokka mused.

"He has grown up. He has the full responsibilities of the Avatar. He has a nation to rebuild. He's still a monk. Marriage, I believe, is not high on his agenda."

"And this has nothing to do with your feelings for Zuko?" he said slyly.

"Zuko?" her eyes shot up and searched his lightly mocking face. "Zuko is betrothed to Lady Mai."

"No he's not." Sokka said, leaning forward. "Everyone has been expecting it for years, but it has yet to happen. I had my suspicions since the two of you returned from your battle with Azula all those years ago. Tonight, after watching the two of you, I think I have my answer."

"Is that all you think about General Sokka?" Katara's eyes twinkled. "Matchmaking your sister to every available man you know?"

"Its a time of peace." her brother replied with an easy grin. "Not much to do on the General side of things besides twiddling my thumbs and teaching the boy how to use a sword without stabbing himself."

"I can only hope this peace you speak of will last." the healer said, smile fading.

" Sister, I do believe your tales, even if you do not believe me capable of brains. But how arrogant would we be, to declare war on behalf of the _world_ because of a small number people who do not agree with our way of thinking?" Sokka asked. "How would we be different from Zuko's father before him, who sought to obliterate every opposing ideology with an iron fist?"

Katara nodded slowly, as she contemplated her brother's wisdom. Part of her was incredibly proud of how far he had come; the other part was incredibly afraid that everything they had worked for might be ripped asunder once again.

* * *

It was close to midnight when he found her wandering the courtyard that had defined his fate once upon a time. He watched as she strolled slowly, deep in thought, her hands twisting the ends of a light cord that gathered her clean scarlet robes at her slim waist. Her loose hair looked damp, gleaming softly in the moonlight, and he concluded absently that he must have caught her after her bath.

He didn't think he had ever seen anything, anyone so beautiful in his life.

"I know you're there." she said after a while, breaking the spell.

"I know you know." he joked, coming up behind her. "What kind of Fire Lord skilled in martial arts and fire bending would not know that you know?"

"The idiot kind. Don't think just because you now rule one of the most powerful nations on this world, means I won't hit you over your head." she said smiling at him. On impulse, he caught a slender hand that was still busy fiddling with her belt, to her surprise.

"I have missed you. I was tempted these years to send a bounty hunter after you." he told her sincerely, feeling his heart beating loudly in his ears.

"What will the servants say if they saw or heard us talking like this?" she asked, but didn't pull away, eyes searching his face.

"They will say that the Fire Lord is in love." he half joked, although his eyes were dark and serious.

"With a peasant girl. There's you and Mai to consider. People will blow this," she gestured to their still joined hands. "Out of proportion. People will talk behind her back. In fact people will tell it to her face. Is that fair to worry your beloved in this manner?" Katara asked worriedly, but finding herself quite enthralled by the feel of his hand in her's.

"My Beloved...but it would be a good political move for me to troth myself to you instead. Fire Nation Royalty with a Water Tribe Princess. What better way to solidify our alliances?" he asked, still keeping his tone playful.

"I'm not some Water Tribe Princess...and...I would just be a political move for you?" Katara asked, eyes narrowing.

"No, that would just be a bonus." he replied, slowly pulling her closer. Her feet moved quite without her permission.

"Do you remember what this place is?"

"How can I possibly forget even if I wanted to?" she said, allowing herself to feel the closeness of him. "You nearly died here. For my sake."

"To keep you safe. That's all I ever wanted." his voice turned husky.

"Actually, you tried to kill me a few times." she said dryly.

"That was before I stopped being evil."

They stood together in silence, listening to each other breathe in the deep of the night.

"I will not be Fire Lord forever." he said after a while.

"Everyone must die at some point, true." Katara said, teasing and confused.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" she asked apprehensively.

"I have a plan. I don't think one man ought to decide the fate of the nation - I have a plan to put together a ruling board of governers, and eventually step down from rule. And then I will be free again, to wander around with just my sword and my wits..." he grinned at her shock.

"That will cause a revolution, and there is already much upheaval." she said sternly, but her face softened as she returned his grin. "But that's a fantastic idea."

"Isn't it?" he said.

He tilted her chin up to her with his index finger, another arm snaking around her waist.

"Until then, I will settle for a kiss." he murmured.

She didn't know what to say. She desperately wanted to be a better person and walk away from a man who still belonged to another woman, but she found herself quite rooted to the spot. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her's. Her lips were chapped and dry, but he loved the feel of them nonetheless, curving softly under his mouth in welcome. She squeaked softly at the back of her throat, pressing closer at the same time, and he chuckled in pleasure at the reaction he was eliciting from her. His arm tightened around her, crushing her body to him possessively as he sought without conscious thought to deepen the embrace. Her mouth opened under his and his tongue darted into her warm depths, brushing up against her own eager one. The mere thought that it was _Katara_ he was kissing, _her_ mouth he was tasting, stoked the fire within him. His other hand tangled itself in the dark masses of her hair; his heart was pounding and soaring all at once, knowing that she was safe _here_, _with_ him.

"Your highness!" someone shouted. "Your highness!"

A messenger appeared in the courtyard, out of breathe from running. The couple pulled apart, Zuko looking annoyed, Katara looking shamed and remorseful.

"Your sister! She has been broken out of prison by rebels! The place is burning down as we speak! We managed to save your Father, and a handful of guards, but everyone else is dead!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I should warn readers this is going to be a slow read; also I might lose interest half way, but please do not er...end your life if I do not complete it...it's just terrible fanfiction that is teetering on the edge of becoming a soap opera; I'm thinking maybe I should stop focusing on character development and just work on the plot. Probably in the next chapter.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon, and the warm sunlight filtered into the almost empty tea-shop, giving it a golden hue. Behind the counter, the man who was once the enemy nation's greatest weapon stood, sipping on his hot drink carefully. Years of serving and cleaning up after others in his own establishment had trimmed away the excesses of a luxurious life, leaving his waist line far narrower than it had once been. The lines on his face were more defined, but drawn more from laughter and smiles than from grief. The bushy beard had been trimmed back, leaving only a short goatee which, he not so secretly thought, lent him a dashing air.

Close to him, seated at a table, a young woman practiced her calligraphy. Her hair was short as it had been since her childhood, but hardly anything else had remained the same. Her garb, although still tailored for function more than form, was far more feminine, subtly emphasizing the curves that she had developed slowly over the years; the cotton used were in lovely shades of tan. Slim fingers grasping the brush curved elegantly as her right hand glided over the page, swiftly delivering precise strokes that read as an epic tale of battle.

Pale blue eyes that have never seen a thing in their life looked straight ahead.

"A pretty girl like you should be out in the sunshine with the other young people; you're wasting your life sitting here, studying on a such a glorious summer day, with an old man who knows of nothing but tea."

"Ah but I enjoy the tea," she said, gesturing to the steaming cup beside her. "And I prefer your wisdom over the idle talk of youth."

"Live as long as I have," Iroh said flatly. "And you will understand that my words are not wisdom; just the regurgitation of one lesson too many."

"You have lived only close to fifty summers long. I have tangled with those who spent a longer time on this earth, and they are mere cretins next to you." she said, smiling, putting her brush back in its cradle.

"Still." Iroh said, watching her, trying not to observe the gentle curve of her neck un-obscured by the long hair worn by most women in the city. "You should find yourself a younger companion..."

"Enough, Iroh." Toph laughed. "If you would have me leave so badly, I will not darken your doors again. But then would that truly be what you desire?"

"It is unseemly for a girl without a chaperon to be here all the time." he persisted. "Potential suitors..."

"Do your truthfully think that suitors want a blind girl who could lift the ground from under their feet at a drop of a pin?" she asked. "I fear you are the only one brave enough to handle me."

"Aye. That I am, and even then I still jump at your bidding out of pure fear." he said, smiling despite himself and taking another sip of his tea. Toph stood, her bare feet moving confidently towards him. If there were any part of her that would have been considered unattractive, it would have been her feet, caked with mud and calloused as they were. Iroh on the other hand, found them endlessly fascinating; he found most things about her fascinating if he were truly honest with himself, but that was a direction he shied away from.

"Now stop your bellyaching." she said, standing before him, hands at her side. "There is no place I would rather be, and no one else I would rather be with."

"That, Toph, is precisely my concern." he murmured, watching her easy smile. As he opened his mouth to argue further, an explosion rocked the tea house, shaking the stone structure to its very foundations.

Without hesitating, he stood up, sensing the flame rushing to greet them from above and pushed back, sending a fireball upward. He was sure that it was a spectacle everyone could see in the surrounding ten miles. Toph meanwhile directed her energies towards sending every last chunk of debris flying away from them, smashing them into the walls. As the flames dissipated into nothing in the blue sky visible through the damaged ceiling and roof, and the dust begin to settle around them, the two war heroes could hear the commotion happening outside.

"Traitor!" a voice screamed. "You call yourself a Fire Bender but you consort with Earth bending scum!"

"Who are you calling scum?" Toph asked, affronted as she walked out onto the streets of Ba Sing Se. A crowd had gathered, and in the midst of the angry spectators, a man was on all fours on the ground, his hands and feet encased right into the earthen street.

"I will not suffer you, barbarian whore!" he spat in her direction. Someone blasted him with pebbles. From behind Toph, a whip of flame curled out and struck the man across his face, leaving behind a thin strip of burnt skin; a wound that was meant to scar.

"You will suffer her!" Iroh thundered furiously, eyes lit up in rage . "You will suffer anything I tell you to suffer!"

"Traitor!" the man spat again. "It is because of you our great Fire Nation has been shamed, with the false lord on the throne. Princess Azula..."

"Was a mad dog, and so are you!" Iroh growled.

City guards arrived, pushing through the crowds. The earth bent under their will and the man's hands became shackled in stone behind him, now free of the ground. His feet were released, but his arms were caught in the iron grip of the soldiers as they began to drag him away.

"We will rise up and destroy you and all who have opposed the true Fire Lord's rule!" the man screamed as he disappeared around a street corner.

"Oh Iroh, your roof..." Toph said, turning to survey the destruction.

"Its a good thing some of us can re-build that in minutes with rock now isn't it?" a neighbour, Chang the mason, said with a laugh in his voice.

"You bring bad luck on us Fire Bender." Ting Si the blacksmith said drolly, shaking his head. "But we will tolerate you because your tea is good, and you give us all your money at Pai Sho."

The crowd begin to dissipate, many casting looks back at the motley group left behind. Not all of the gazes were friendly. Many still remembered the unkind fist of the Fire Nation's domination, and it was no easy trial to live side by side with one who had laid siege with an army to Ba Sing Sei's walls, sturdy it may have been.

The former general watched as the three earthbenders, Toph included, repaired the hole in his roof and the ceiling of his tea shop on the first level. His gaze was thoughtful as he studied the young woman before him, effortlessly shaping and moving plaster to her will. In about an hour, the tea house was almost back to normal, although it was in need to some roofing tiles. The older man thanked his neighbours, who cheerfully accepted his gratitude and left.

"It's time for you to go home young lady. Your parents will no doubt, have gotten wind of this. I don't want them after me for putting their only daughter in danger." he said in his usual genial tone, although a great tension flowed under his words.

"Danger? I laugh in the face of danger." Toph scoffed, not hearing the troubled aspect of his words. "But you are right, it is getting late and I shall never hear the end of it if I return after dark. I will see you tomorrow then my General."

Perhaps it was the adrenalin left over from the excitement that made her do it; she leaned over and kiss him softly on the cheek, something she had never done before. Iroh stood stock still, refusing to react to the sensation of her soft lips against his skin.

It was two months before he saw her again, and then there was hell to pay.

* * *

A clod of dirt hit him by the side of his face, shattering on impact and sending little clumps of dirt into his mouth and eyes. As he promptly started to spit, he heard her irate voice.

"What in the the Avatar's name makes you think you can ignore me?"

"I'm not ignoring you." Iroh said miserably, trying to get grains of soil out of his eyes.

"You hired a tea boy, who told me you were busy every single afternoon." Toph yelled, ignoring the curious stares of pedestrians.

"I _was_ busy you little harridan!" he said, annoyed, eyes streaming. He reached out and tugged at her arm, leading her into the quiet sidealley.

"What do you want?" he asked abruptly.

"I want to see you. Talk to you. And all you do is run from me." she said, voice dropping to a sulk.

"Toph, you need to find friends your age, a nice boy to treat you right, marry you." he said, trying to sound like a mature grown up. He realized how patronizing he was being, the moment the words left his mouth.

"I don't want that. You know...you know what I want." she said tiredly. "Stop treating me like a child. I can make up my own mind."

"But you are a child." he replied, sounding just as frustrated.

"Girls my age have been mothers for many seasons. Some married to even older crones than you." she ploughed on adamantly.

"And is that what you want? To stay beside a man who will wither and die surrounded in his spittle while your youth and beauty trickles away?" he demanded, reaching out and shaking her shoulders roughly.

"Perhaps it is not **_I_** that would feel trapped." her pretty, blank eyes narrowed. "Perhaps **_yo__u_** are the one who worries about the freedom he will lose. I know you want me; I can feel your entire being change when I am close. I have heard your poetic declarations of my beauty time and time again. I suppose my mistake was believing that you might want me as much as I want to be with you."

Iroh ran a hand over his face, letting go of her shoulders.

"Do you know," he asked, voice raw and low. "Do you realize how much I want this? But I simply cannot do this to you. Not if I claim to care about you."

"If you cared about me, you would stop trying to make my decisions for me, Iroh of the Fire Nation." Toph said, sounding hurt.

"It's more than..." he paused and sighed. "It's more than just the age difference. I want to keep you safe, and being with me...do you know how many people want to kill me? That Fire Bender two months ago, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Earth Benders want to destroy me, for the mistakes I made in the past; for the misfortune of having been born Fire Lord Ozai's brother. Do you not consider that to hurt me, they will hurt the ones I love?"

Toph's face broke into a grin.

"You love me?" she asked.

"The point is," Iroh said, ignoring her. "I want to make sure you stay safe, and the only way you can do that is to stay away from me. For your own good."

"I'm the most powerful Earth and Metal bender in the entire world, and you're worried about my safety?" Toph scoffed. "You're going to need a better excuse than that you no good son of a Firelord."

Iroh could not help smirk, which did not go unnoticed by Toph who smacked his arm.

"It is more than that. I received word from Zuko two days ago...Azula has escaped with the help of the ever strengthening rebels. If I know anything about Azula, I know that in her vengeful little heart, she will strike us where it will hurt most..." he reached out and traced the Earth Bender's cheek bone with a thumb. "...and I could not bear that in a hundred years."

"How do you think I shall bear it if she hurt you, and I wasn't there to try and stop her?" Toph asked softly, leaning into his touch. She could feel the speeding up of his heart, and in her mind's eye, could see his torn expression; if she could only put down in words the intensity and heat of that moment.

"Ah Toph.." he murmured, before removing his hand.

"If you will not have me as a lover, then take me back as a friend." she said at last. "I cannot bear this separation from your company, even if I cannot be your betrothed."

"I had a betrothed once." he said, feeling that old and dry grief take hold of him. "I had a son and a wife. I lost them. I do not think I could handle losing you if I let you deeper into my heart than you already are."

Toph kept herself from shaking at that sentence, feeling all the repressed emotions within him, the way she understood the world through her feet. It was as if when it came to the man before her, she had been specially gifted to understand his shifts and changes in moods, him and him only.

"But you are right. I fear this time without you has done nothing for me besides sadden my days." Iroh said. "And I fear I have lost customers without your pretty face to greet them."

The young woman smiled weakly.

The two of them stayed in that alley a little longer, not touching or speaking, but unable to break the moment for some time. It was the best they could do for now.

* * *

_Three days ago..._

* * *

"I didn't think...I didn't know this would happen." Mai said, lost for words as she watched the man before her pacing in front of his desk, face looking as if it had aged ten years in the last few hours between dinner, and the summons she had received in her bedroom where she had slumbered restlessly.

"Nothing seemed suspicious to you in the least?" Zuko asked, golden eyes trained on her. Katara sat at his desk, brush flying over the parchment as she wrote a message to the Avatar, warning him that he might be a target in Azula's likely course of action in vengeance. The Fire Lord's messenger hawk stood on its perch at her elbow, its jet black eyes reflecting the lamp light.

"Not to me, no. She did want me to tell you that the prison would not hold her forever."

"I can see how that could be dismissed as an empty threat." Katara said without looking up. "She was always on the dramatic side even without the insanity."

Mai's eyes flashed with dislike at the way it seemed as if the Water Bender had so easily insinuated herself into the matters of the state and Zuko's personal life, so far as to write using the Fire Lord's very own stationery and to use his royal seal.

"Not really." she said somewhat curtly. "When I fought beside her, she seemed to be more inclined towards getting the job done; the theatrical lightning was really just her most efficient way of dispatching enemies."

Katara looked up at Mai, and the latter could have sworn that a look of guilt passed over the younger woman's face. Her heart begin to beat faster.

"As someone who had been so close to her, what would you predict she would do next?" Zuko asked, drawing her attention.

"The Azula I know is dead, and there is only a shell of a crazy woman left. What would you have me tell you?" she asked sharply. "Or are you trying to insinuate that I had perhaps been involved in this fiasco in some manner?"

"I don't think that's what Zuko meant..."

The noblewoman's eyes narrowed further as her gaze swept back to Katara.

"I know what Zuko meant; I am after all his lover and partner as the court and state knows it." she snapped.

"Mai, that is enough!" Zuko said sternly. "I am asking not because I suspect that you have anything to do with this. I know the price you paid to keep us..."

He paused.

"To keep me safe. But I am asking because you are the last person outside of the prison who would have had any contact with her aside from the guards; the only person not a continent away who might have been able to predict her next move."

"And I am telling you once again, I do not know." Mai replied, eyes piercing him. She watched as his eyes drifted to Katara, and she knew more from that look than any confession he could have made in words.

"I will leave now, and speak with my friends and allies across the land. They might have information of her movement." the Water Bender said, standing up as she tied the note she had written to the left leg of Zuko's hawk. The bird hopped onto her arm, claws digging into her new robe. Katara winced slightly at that, as she walked to the window and whispered to the bird of prey, before releasing him. The bird soared away into the inky black night sky, bearing the note.

"You cannot possibly do so." Zuko objected at once, switching from ruler and politician to someone else. "You are as much a target of Azula. More so, because you were the one who ultimately defeated her.

"I can possibly do so, and I am." Katara said firmly, eyes not meeting his. "I will return with as much news as I can. I am sure we can have this resolved quickly; she is one deranged prisoner among deluded heretics."

"Katara, please..." Zuko almost pleaded. Mai shut her eyes.

"Fire Lord, you have business to attend to." the latter said firmly. "Once again, I take my leave of you. May yourself and Lady Mai have a good evening...as good as it can be."

With that, the young woman withdrew from the room. A thick silence filled it, until at last Mai felt as if she might suffocate.

"The deeds of this night indeed. Would you like to tell me more Zuko, or shall I fill in the blanks myself?" she asked, unable to quite keep the anger out of her voice.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, seating himself behind his desk and picking up his brush to pen another missive.

"Your Water Bender and you."

He looked at her.

"I have wondered these long years, why you have not asked for my hand." Mai said thickly. "Can it be that you have truly been pining for her like the lovesick fool Azula had told me you were?"

"Mai..."

"No it is I who have been the blind fool - a fool you created." she said, choking back sobs like bile.

"Oh Mai..." he said, walking around his desk to stand closer to her. "I had thought perhaps, that you had sensed our disconnection since the end of the war as much as I have."

"You shared your bed and your thoughts with me. How could I have realized you did not share your heart?" she asked bitterly, looking at the intricate woodwork of his desk behind him.

"I am sorry if I had mislead you..." Zuko started, eyes filled with remorse. "I had imagined I was as much a distraction from the loneliness for you as..."

"A mere distraction." she said disbelievingly, brokenly.

The Fire Lord cursed his poor choice of words.

"Give me men. Give me your best soldiers and guards." Mai said, tone suddenly fierce.

"What? Why?" Zuko asked, taken aback.

"Your Water Bender might have been in battle with the rebels; but she does not know as well as I do, the ones in your very own court who had probably planted those seeds of treachery in their minds. I know which ministers had been her strongest allies, and would rather have seen you dead than on the throne." Mai told him. "And I will find you the traitors that come and go through your doors as they please."

"It is too dangerous." Zuko said, but his eyes whispered something else which she caught. "You are right. For too long I have ignored the presence of traitors in our midst."

"You fear that I will join their ranks in my rage over your infidelities and your callousness Fire Lord Zuko." here, she drew herself to her full height, meeting him eye to eye. "But you forget that I would rather die than see my country and the world in the hands of that madwoman."

"I did not say that." he looked away guiltily.

"But you thought it. And if its danger you fear, you forget,"

Mai flung her right arm out, eyes never off Zuko, sending several blades flying and embedding themselves into the stone pillar at the far end of the room.

"I am certainly not helpless. So give me your best guards. And send word to Ty Lee." Mai said, turning to leave. "She also suffered for your sake once, by angering Azula, who will show no mercy to her."

"For what its worth Mai," Zuko said, eyes on the ground, suddenly feeling not so much like a Fire Lord, but more like a very stupid boy playing dress up, "I am sorry. I am so sorry. Go to General Sokka; he will supply you with the manpower you need."

Mai kept walking. If she blinked away her tears, Zuko saw none of that.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't easy being an ordinary child in a family of Fire Benders; it didn't help that her family was considered one of the highest ranking nobilities in a state obsessed with fire. Growing up, Mai had always been envious of her peers who held the incendiary element at the tips of their fingers; it wasn't until she met Ty Lee, who was in the exact uncomfortable position of not quite fitting in due to a lack of bending abilities, that she realized that all her fretting was a mere waste of energy.

The latter, who eventually became her best friend, had been well versed in hand to hand combat by the time of their meeting at the age of eleven, making her a fair opponent against children in the school yard. There were many who had thought it might be fun to pick on the sweet natured girl with no Fire Bending skills, which had necessitated some steps towards self defense and perhaps even certain theatrics to keep the other children sufficiently impressed, and therefore, _away_. Mai, herself having been subjected to the regular slights of both students and teachers, found herself intrigued at the notion that she had other options, other areas where she could excel - and at the same time, discovered the simple elegance of the throwing star.

Long months that turned into years of daily practice had made the young woman as swift and graceful as the weapons she used; the flow of disdain from those around her, many of whom had grown complacent in their abilities over the flame, had become more or less stemmed. No one was interested in having body parts skewered due to accidents on their part from a derisive Mai.

Still, it irked her slightly, knowing that her parents had constantly made it quite clear that she was no Fire Bender. Whereas, they never failed to point out, her brother, a good seventeen years younger than she was, displayed the ability from his crib.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Mai settled into her seat in the family study, blank parchment before her. She wondered, feeling the dull ache in her chest, what her parents would say now that it was clear the Fire Lord held no interest in her. They would probably consider her even further of a failure, or worse, a disgrace for having been used so publicly. Nonetheless, living among rumour mongers had yet to affect her, and she had long learnt to live with the burden of her parents' disappointed expectations.

Pushing aside her bleak reflections, Mai attempted to ignore the harsh grating of her heart to focus on the task at hand of listing all suspected traitors in the court. She had not lied to the Fire Lord; she was there beside Azula and Ozai when the sycophants scraped and fawned for their favour, cursing Zuko and mocking his scarred visage.

As luck would have it, her mother had chosen that morning to be awake at dawn.

"I was informed of your late night expedition to the palace." her mother said reprovingly. "Need I tell you again that your manner of behaviour is most unbecoming?"

"The Fire Lord made an urgent summon. I considered refusing on account of needing a full night's sleep, but felt that might not have been the best idea." Mai replied sarcastically, sparing her mother a look.

"He can call on you anytime he wants if he would at least make an honest proposal." the matriarch of the household grumbled.

"Then let me clarify this now: There is and will be no betrothal - but **_I_**, and I hope, **_you_**, remain his loyal subject." the young woman said stiffly as she began to mix the writing ink.

"What are you talking about?" her mother asked sharply. "What has happened?"

"Nothing, beyond what has been obvious." Mai said. _Though not to me_, she thought. "The Fire Lord has never held any interest in that direction for me, and its time I establish that with you."

"Then what was all these years of flirting, and wearing you around on his arm?" her mother asked aghast, clutching at her silk covered chest. "All this gallivanting off in the night like some concubine?"

"Oh Mother, stop acting like a small minded peasant." Mai said carelessly, too tired to tamper her words.

"Are you telling me that the Fire Lord has spurned your affections after all you have suffered for him in that horrible jail at the hands of his sister?" her mother asked, face still ashen.

"You read too much into our acquaintance Mother."

"Perhaps we have supported the wrong heir." she continued pitifully, as if she had not heard her daughter's words. "Perhaps..."

"Don't." Mai said, holding a hand up. Her mother silenced. "That woman did not know friend from foe, and would have happily slit the throats of bloodkin for the mere joy of it. At a time like this, it is wise if you do not say such things."

"What do you mean by 'at a time like this'?"

"You have heard the useless chatter of servants regarding my 'expedition', as you call it, and yet you have heard nothing about the escape of Princess Azula at the hands of rebels." Mai laughed mirthlessly at her mother, who gaped at her.

"Keep everyone home. Do not let Father out today to visit his gambling houses. Keep your son indoors. Azula is out there, and you know as well as I, she will be coming after those she perceives as traitors, and everything they love." Mai said, turning back to her task at hand. "As for me, I have a job to do; I have some vermin to smoke out."

"Ai...you have brought calamity on our heads, for your love of a fool." her Mother said, turning and shaking her head. "The Princess would have never considered us targets had you kept your loyalties to her."

"And should I suspect your loyalties Mother?" Mai bit out. She knew the answer to her question: no. Her parents were a lot of things, but they were not traitors - they lacked the courage. They were mere sycophants of whoever happened to be in power, at least to their face.

"No child. But I'm afraid your loyalties should always have been with those of your family's, like other good children." the older woman said haughtily, and stepped out.

Instead of fuming in anger as she usually did after a spat like that, Mai looked thoughtful, as she pondered her mother's words.

* * *

General Sokka never did lose his penchant for doodling absently; he continued to do so even as he listened to the long winded account of Zuko, standing in front of his desk.

"And I have decided to run naked into the battlefield screaming 'all the eggs are purple'." Zuko finished dryly.

"I would actually pay good money to see that." Sokka deadpanned, looking up at his Liege Lord before cracking into his trademarked grin.

"Have you been listening? And you must have a _very_ good opinion of yourself..." the Fire Lord said, looking quizzically at the General's drawing depicting Sokka, a large ship and questionably large limb.

"That's my rowing arm. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Oh."

"Look, I know we sustained a catastrophic amount of casualties, among them many valued guards, but mostly prisoners. And you and I know, the prisoners in there were never people we would have cared to save either way." Sokka said, putting his doodling brush down, turning serious. Zuko opened his mouth to protest, but the latter spoke quickly. "And don't give me that Avatar philosophy about how each life is precious. Those are Aang's words, not your's. Certainly not mine."

"So each life is _nott_ precious?" Zuko asked, amused.

"No I mean, each life is precious, even the prisoners, but you know, on one level, not really, even though yes, they are still living creatures...alright, now you're just confusing me." Sokka said, annoyed.

"But you know what I mean. Anyway, Azula got rescued by a bunch of fanatics with firepower, something this place is certainly not lacking. She's unstable, and they're disorganized roving bands. Sooner or later, we'll catch them. For now, all the losses we've sustained really, are prisoners and some guards."

"Except I suspect you haven't lost them. The guards. Not the way you think." Mai's voice said from the entrance of the General's small office.

"What have you discovered?" Zuko asked, looking at her.

"That about three quarters of your Guards, male and female both, were conscripted there less than half a year ago, whose parents are among some of the most prestigious families within the Imperial Circle during Ozai's reign." Mai replied, taking a seat on the snug couch Sokka had insisted on having placed in his office.

"Are you saying..."

"That this might not be the job of mere rebels." the young woman said flatly, sinking further into the cushions and leaning back, eyes closed in fatigue. It had been a long few hours. "Did you ever find out how many bodies were recovered from the wreckage?"

Sokka's face hardened and he stood up.

"I will find the messenger who informed me that there had been nothing to find but ash and a few odd bodies, aside from the few survivors." he said. "I had assumed the flame was fierce and destroyed all the bodies...but perhaps I have been far too hasty."

He strode away from the room.

"Are you suggesting that more than half my court has been _systematically_ plotting against my reign?" Zuko asked in shock. "I had expected _some_ dissension, but never this level of anarchy."

"We do not know Zu...Fire Lord, if _entire_ families were involved, even if it seems likely given some of their previous political inclinations. They could have been young people mislead by the ideals of their parents, who took it too far. They could have been deluded heretics who believed that Azula is their lost Goddess of Good Fortune and Orgasms. In fact, they could all simply be _dead_, ash in the wind from the destruction of the prison." Mai paused for breath.

"After all, this is all unfounded suspicions on my part drawn from the list of personnel on duty at the jail yesterday."

Zuko circled the table and sat down heavily in Sokka's chair. He placed his elbows down on the desk, his sleeves falling to reveal his bony arms, and he slammed his face into his hands.

"It appears." he said after a moment, muffled behind his fingers. "That a good ruler would have seen this coming. How could I have expected everyone and everything to fall into place the moment I took the kingdom?"

She considered letting him wallow. Her anger at him was still white hot. However, she found herself quite unable to let him torture himself.

"It was naive of us to all have believed that everything would work out, and why shouldn't we have been? We were but children in the war." she said reasonably.

"I do not have the luxury of naiveté." he replied. "I never did."

The noblewoman had nothing to say to that, because it was after all, partly true. Sokka chose that moment to stomp his way back in. One look at his face had Zuko skittering out of the General's seat.

"My Liege," Sokka said, not sitting down. "I am afraid to report that Huai, the soldier who gave me the report this morning, has been missing for a few hours. And perhaps too coincidentally, it also seems as if all the surviving male guards have been found in the Officer's Mess with their throats slit."

Mai suddenly thought about the female soldier who had spoken so kindly to her the day before outside Azula's cell, and felt distinctively ill. She knew to her very gut that the other female was one of the brutally murdered guards. Avatar forgive her, but she had not even stopped to consider that since she heard this news, wrapped up in her own selfish concerns.

"They were killed because they raped...were raping... Azula during her imprisonment." she said thickly and quietly, not looking at Zuko who had blanched. She kept her eyes to the ground. "I can wager you my entire family's fortune that is why they're murdered."

"She told me what they did and I...could see the evidence of it. Her clothes were torn and...Anyway, you will find a female guard among the dead, here, or at the prison. Most likely at the prison, probably still...left...outside whatever remains of the ruins that was your sister's...cage. She was killed because she was Azula's personal guard - and she had let it happen once too often."

The three individuals looked at each other, hearts sinking as one in guilt. After the way, it had seemed like the only reasonable move, short of executing her, to lock her away. Zuko in his anger had never thought of that aspect of her life in prison. True, he knew he still hated her. Too much damage had been done to remedy that, even through the passage of three years. But what kind of a man was he to have allowed unspeakable deeds as such to happen to his _sister_?

Beside him, Mai felt as if her own heartbreak, despite still hurting in the background of her consciousness, seemed atrociously trivial.

"There is one left alive who may have overheard something. Plans perhaps, something to let us know where they have taken her and what their next move would be. If it is indeed true that there is treachery in the ranks." Sokka said at last, looking pointedly at the Fire Lord, who drew himself straight again, a hard mask falling over his features.

* * *

The sheets had not felt right. At least that's how Zuko had thought, sleeping in what used to be his Father's quarters after his coronation. Moreover, it didn't make sense that his bed was on the other side of the palace from his desk where he worked till late most nights. After about a week of living in the Fire Lord's wing, Zuko moved his living space into a smaller section, closer to where he spent his time working. His present rooms were slightly less frivolously opulent, although no less luxurious, with various knick knacks and mechanical gadgets gracing his shelves, along with tomes of information.

If he didn't like his Father's living area then, he certainly did not enjoy walking down the halls of the almost deserted wing now. The plants in the courtyard had withered due to a lack of attention, weeds ferociously taking back the property. The ground was covered in dead leaves and droppings of animals who had wandered in; the walls were weather stained. A retinue of guards stood at attention as he passed them, though he could tell they were bored and displeased to be posted there. He came to the door of what used to be his Father's bedroom - now his holding cell. There was no other place deemed secure enough to hold the ex-Fire Lord as long as he stayed within the city; not that he could escape. It was more of a precaution against other people with strange notions.

Without preamble, the young ruler pushed open the doors, to be met with the smell of fetid air rushing to greet him. Dust covered every exposed surface in the room, precious woods and silken covers rotting away under that. The prisoner stood, looking out an open window. Although he could not see them, the current Fire Lord knew two guards flanked the window on the outside.

"So the Fire Lord deems me worthy of a visit." the cracked voice of Ozai said. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"What do you know of this whole mess?" his son asked bluntly.

"Questions, questions. That is all I have ever heard from you."

"And you have yet to answer one." Zuko said. "But you will answer this. Do you know anything of Azula's escape and where she might be now?"

"You have kept us so far apart, I could never have spoken with her to know of any plans she might have made. I heard her though, often, in the night, when the soldiers had their way with your sister." Ozai said, turning around to look at him, eyes sharp like knives. He had found some cleaner garb to wear, no doubt from his old closet. His hair was still unkempt, as was his beard.

"Or is it treason from the guards you fear?" a smile crawled across Ozai's face. If Zuko had any doubts about the question of 'if' there was treason being carried out under his very nose, they were well rested. Cold water filled his stomach, but his face betrayed nothing.

"Are you losing control of this kingdom you destroyed your bloodkin for?"

"Not really. And by the way, I love the little bread things they make at dinner when you're Fire Lord. Really hits the spot." the younger man said casually.

Ozai glared at him.

"If you won't talk to me, I have people who have...methods of making you speak." Zuko said, sounding bored as he made to leave.

"My, my, you really have grown up, threatening to torture your own father for information." the former self-dubbed Phoenix King spat. Zuko paused, knowing he had hit his mark.

"Getting someone else to do your dirty work again. Last time, it was the Avatar. Who will it be this time?"

"The Avatar showed you mercy."

"You still think of it as mercy do you _child_?" Ozai hissed, walking up closer behind Zuko.

"You still think that having everything that defines who you are, everything you lived by, stripped away from you leaving you helpless as a babe, drooling on the ground...you still think of that as _mercy_?" he asked his son harshly.

"No, I do not believe you will torture me. You lack the courage to order this upon your own father, just as you lacked the courage to order my execution." Ozai pronounced in confidence. Zuko had the urge to turn around and hit the man in the face; no fire bending. Just an honest punch in the eye. But if he did that, his father would win - again - by being able to get under his skin.

"Anyway. I have no reason _not_ to tell you. Those scumbags took that crazy little bitch, and left me, **_me_**, the one who gave their families **_everything_**, they left me to **_die_**. I am curious to see how you will deal with these traitors." his continued, voice turning gravelly in anger.

"So." Zuko said, turning around and drawing a disused chair - what had once been his father's favourite chair - to him. He leaned back, fingers lightly tapping the ends of the armrests, and looked at his father with a lazy smile. He hoped he was angering the old man; childish, he knew, but he couldn't resist.

"Talk."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This Chapter contains violence and sexuality.

* * *

Summer beat down on their faces, as Ty Lee and Su Lin strolled through the dirt packed streets in the middle of Kyoshi Island, their fingers interlacing, palms pressed firmly together. It was the first sunny day of the year, spring having brought mostly rain and thunder, and the girls were determined to make the best of it even as they 'patrolled'.

The truth of the matter was that after the war with the Fire Nation had ended, patrolling and guarding the re-built town of Kyoshi was rather superfluous. The locale had returned to being the quiet settlement it had always been, welcoming the occasional traveller from the North. Which was why Ty Lee saw no problem in turning her patrol into more or less, a date with Su Lin.

She watched her lover pick up a flowery jewel box from a vendor's stand, and found herself shockingly entranced once again by the gorgeous young woman beside her. The traditional face paint did little to conceal an elegant jaw line and long eye lashes, which made the acrobatic young woman catch her breath. Her thoughts drifted to what they had got up to, alone in the officer's quarter right before they had left on patrol...

* * *

"Someone will catch us..." Su Lin had whispered, giggling, between the kisses Ty Lee seemed determined to press on her soft lips.

"Doesn't that make you excited?" Ty Lee whispered back huskily, hands travelling below the latter's armoured robes and finding..._there._

"I guess it does you naughty girl." the pigtailed girl smiled against her woman's lips, which opened in a gasp as two fingers were thrust into her wet and hot depths under her robes...

* * *

"Stop looking at me like that." Su Lin hissed, face red.

"Like what?" Ty Lee grinned.

"Like you want to devour me. I might be forced to take action." the other woman replied.

"What, are you going to arrest me? Really teach me a lesson?" Ty Lee asked, drawing her lover away from the quizzical vendor, and whispering in her ear, taking an opportunity to nuzzle into the other Kyoshi warrior's neck. She opened her eyes in time to see a shadow darting between two buildings, too quick for her eyes to make out any distinct features. Her eyes narrowed.

"Mmm.." Su Lin hummed, eyes sliding close. Then she shook herself. "No, no! We're on duty!"

"Yes, you're quite right."

Suddenly, she was all business, standing straight up and releasing the latter's hand.

"We need to go into that alley." Ty Lee pointed.

"Oh thank goodness, because I was going to take you right here," Su Lin said, relieved.

"No sweetie, I saw something strange." she frowned and began to stride towards the source of her concern. The other warrior flushed in embarrassment, before following behind.

Inside the cool alley, Ty Lee stepped softly, reaching with her senses to seek out the source of the mysterious shadow. Nothing stirred in the absolutely empty and dim alleyway that ended in a blank wall a few feet in. She frowned; she knew what she saw. She looked upwards at the rooftops suspiciously, walking deeper into the passage.

Suddenly, hands grabbed her shoulder and slammed her face first into the wall, eliciting a small shriek of shock.

"Hi honey." Su Lin whispered into her right ear, hands creeping down Ty Lee's side slowly. "You little tease..."

"Sweetie, normally I would be all for a grope in a dark alley, but right now..."

"Silence." the other woman said, sounding amused, as hands squeezed in front, burrowing into the folds of Ty Lee's clothes to grasp a soft breast.

"No, really, I think I saw someone come innnnnn..." the former Fire Nation woman's sentence trailed off as clever fingers found and pinched a sensitive nipple. She moaned softly, all coherent thought flying from her mind. She almost didn't hear the soft landing of a body behind her woman.

Almost.

Before Su Lin knew what was happening, she was spun quickly, their positions reversed with Ty Lee in front, back facing her. Instinctively, hands shot out, fingers homing in on the spots in the human body that left a man incapacitated. A male in a uniform terrifyingly familiar to both women crumpled to the ground, eyes wide and aware even though he was completely paralyzed. His helmet bore a phoenix crest, as did his armour, where the symbol of a Flame was supposed to be. The former Fire Nation citizen looked perplexed.

But the two lovers had no time to consider this. Shouts suddenly filled the air, along with the sound of metal weapons clashing, and the whoosh of things igniting. Grimly, Su Lin drew her katana as Ty Lee revealed the metal fans concealed within her sleeves. With a battle cry, the two of them ran out from the alley, leaving the subdued soldier behind.

* * *

The battle felt as long as it was brutal. Bodies piled up, many belonging to civilians cut down in their attempts to escape. The guardhouse was visibly smoking in the distance. Ty Lee had stopped trying to immobilize her opponents; instead, she concentrated on slicing throats and veins with the edge of her fan, deftly dodging flames and even licks of lightning that brushed up against her. She could feel cuts forming where her skin was exposed, but ignored the sting. She was aware of other Kyoshi Warriors charging about, but that was as far as she knew. When she lost her weapons, her fingers did her work, stemming the circulation of blood and air, leaving enemies gurgling for breath at their knees, eyes popping, before finally collapsing, suffocated to death, fingers still at their throats.

And still, the troops that resembled Fire Nation soldiers kept attacking, like waves pounding upon the shore. The memory of making love to Su Lin that morning seemed distant and faint, far away from the blood soaked landscape before her, as if it were a scene from another world. Her arms began to feel like lead weights, but still she promised death and retribution with every gesture.

Then a deft blow to her head from the back brought her down, and she sank into darkness and knew no more for a while.

* * *

It was the sharp kick to her ribs which woke her up. She groaned in pain, only to have it turn into a scream as someone yanked her up roughly by her hair, bringing her to her knees. Her hands were behind her, bound with rope that chafed against her skin. Her eyes opened. It appeared that she was on the stretch of beach outside of town. Two unfamiliar ships floated nearby, and boats were being prepared to take the troops to them from the shore; she surmised that those must have been the means by which the enemy had reached their little town. How had they arrived without the Coast Guards noticing though?

"Hello old friend."

Ty Lee's eyes widened. Before her stood Azula, dressed in what looked like her old armour, but with the same Phoenix Crest rather than the Flame. The Princess's shadowed eyes were sunken in her bony face, where the skin looked deathly pale from too much time spent in a dark prison cell. Her hair gleamed as it always did, pulled back from her skeletal face, which was a mask of malice and madness.

"Azu..."

A bony hand slapped the former acrobat so hard, her neck felt as if it would snap from the force.

"You are not worthy to say her Highness's name." another voice said, before another wave of pain hit her, as a fist met the already stinging side of her face, followed by jeers and laughter. Ty Lee could feel where her teeth had crashed into the softness of her cheek, and felt the blood filling her mouth.

"Xing?" she asked. "Did you see them coming? What did they pay you?"

She could hear nervous shuffling somewhere to her side; it was the Coast Guard she addressed, knowing her voice from many conversations carried out in the village tavern over evening meals.

"Where are the other Guards who were on duty with you? Did you kill them?" Ty Lee asked. These were women she had drank with, laughed with. Including Xing. She wondered dully if they had all betrayed the town.

"All of you were fools. Had we cooperated with the Fire Nation, Kyoshi Island might have had a chance for _greatness_. Instead, we remained a ditch, ignored by all Nations." Xing hissed.

"Where are the guards?" she asked again.

A few figures stepped closer, garbed in black armour; their eyes were cold on features now ungraced by face paint. Ty Lee's heart sank.

"You always were on the stupid side." Azula said. Her voice sounded different than it used to. Stretched and cruel now, all traces of girlish whim gone. "And what else have we here?"

"The deviant slut's lover." Xing crooned.

The woman on her knees watched, heart beating in increasing terror as Su Lin was dragged into view, hands similarly bound behind her. Azula pulled the other woman close in a mock parody of an embrace. The young warrior attempted to look calm and collected, but Ty Lee could see her chin trembling, and the petrified gleam in her eyes. The Fire Princess watched the facial expressions on her one-time friend carefully, and kept her eyes trained on her as she licked a slow, wet trail up the expanse of Su Lin's slender neck, skin that had been cherished and loved less than a day ago.

"Your quarrel is with me." Ty Lee said, voice cracking very slightly. She was certain everyone around could hear her heart pounding.

"Yes, and she is your's, therefore..." Azula's smile grew wider as she drew a sharp dagger from her hip.

Before she had time to understand the implications, the blade was drawn across Su Lin's neck. The blood welled up crimson against alabaster skin, and begin to gush obscenely. The red liquid soaked into her tunic and dripped on her shoes as she gurgled helplessly. Azula released the limp girl, who fell to her knees and then clumsily onto her side.

Stunned, the other captive watched as the light fled from her lover's eyes, half fluttered close in death; blood oozed closer to the knelt girl from the every spreading pool.

"Lock her below deck. Let your men have their fun with her, but make sure she stays alive; I'm not done with her yet." Azula said, turning to go.

Ty Lee, eyes still fixed on Su Lin's body, felt something red hot surging within her. Vaguely, she wondered if that was how a Fire Bender felt inside all the time, burning and burning. Then, with careful precision, she swung her head backwards, slamming hard into his groin, sending layers of mail crashing into his sensitive testicles. Howling in pain, the man released his hold on her hair and clutched between his legs. She felt her own eyes water and her sight waver on impact, but she had other matters to attend to. With an agility only an acrobat could have mustered, the woman hopped up, once to her feet, and with impossible flexiblity, jumped again, bringing her rope-bound hands under her feet and in front of her.

The former Fire Nation Princess turned around to find Ty Lee slamming both fists into her soldiers, crushing windpipes and skulls in a blur. Ribs cracked under her feet with every kick. Eyes narrowing, Azula made ready her own attack, but then something else happened.

"The fugitive is here!" a voice cried in the darkness. And then, hundreds of Earth and Fire Nation soldiers surged in. "Take her dead or alive!"

"Retreat!" Azula thundered, knowing she was outnumbered. "Retreat!"

"Azula!" Ty Lee screamed, unaware that her voice had been capable of such murderous intent, and not caring.

She leapt after the fleeing leader, crashing her body into the other's form and sending them both into the ground. Soldiers begin running towards the boats, some escaping, some pursuing. Both women scrambled, Azula spitting sand out her mouth as the crazed Kyoshi Warrior flipped her around and wrapped her fingers around her emaciated throat. The black armoured female's eyes were filled with horror as she gasped for air that would not reach her lungs, gazing up at the still-painted face of Ty Lee, who looked like death personified. She was aware at that moment, that unlike all her previous battles, mercy was not her opponent's intent. She knew she was going to die.

Until a ball of flame exploded not three feet away, causing Ty Lee to loosen her grip slightly as the ground rocked. It was all the Fire Princess needed to shove her back, before she stumbled up and off, running towards the water, blasting away all who opposed the way. At the shore, one boat was left awaiting her, valiantly fending off a team of Earth Benders who could do nothing with the loose sand, but possessed sharp swords equally as deadly. With a quick wave of her hand, Azula ignited the soldiers dressed in browns and greens, sending them screaming in different directions. Scrambling onto the boat, she harshly ordered her people to start rowing. Any pursuit using the Kyoshi Islanders own wooden fishing boats docked close by were cut short when they all burst into flames; doubtlessly, the work of Fire benders on the Princess's escaping craft.

Ty Lee clambered to her feet unsteadily, watching as her quarry reached a ship and climb onto it in the distance. Her blood stained hands were still fisted at her sides.

"Stand down!" a man shouted. "Everyone, stand down! The fugitive has escaped!"

"A Water Bender or two would be fantastic right now." someone could be heard grumbling.

Turning, Ty Lee started to walk inland; she wiped her face paint off with the back of her hand. She barely winced as she rubbed against her sore cheek where she had been struck.

"Miss, miss!" a Fire Nation soldier called out; he looked about fifteen. "How shall we deal with your comrades?"

The former acrobat turned Kyoshi Warrior looked briefly at Su Lin's body, still crumpled sideways in a puddle of crimson. She wanted to throw up.

"I don't care. They're just bodies." she said dully, and kept walking, not looking back.

Eventually, she found herself in her lodgings, a small cabin in the village. The roof was partially destroyed in the fire fight; charred thatch littered the ground and the bed. On the window sill, a large hawk stood, a note tied to its leg. Mechanically, she coaxed the bird to give her the message and began to read it in the dim moonlight streaming in from the torn roof. Ty Lee found hysterical laughter bubbling up when she came to the part with the warning about Azula's escape, and her intentions as warned by Ozai. About Zuko's assurance that he would send word to the Earth Kingdom military, and Fire Nation soldiers stationed in the area just in case Ozai had not been lying.

She laughed and she laughed and then she started to sob and scream like a madwoman. Finally, she wore herself out, and curled up on the dirty mattress, falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.

That was how the other soldiers finally found her, hours later, after they had finished burying the bodies of the townsfolk and the Kyoshi Warriors.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This Chapter contains much shippiness and finally, some Aang

* * *

_Two years and four months ago_

* * *

"I had to. I had to save them. If I didn't do it, hundreds of lives could have been lost." Aang said, looking at Katara who was looking at everything else but him. Her clothes were still ripped from sliding together with the immeasurable amount of rocks falling towards the village at the bottom of the cliff. Her face was cut and her hands were bleeding.

"I know that." she replied.

"I mean..." Aang was frustrated. If he had hair, he'd have been pulling at it. "You know how much you mean to me. You know how much it'd destroy me if I lost you."

"I know that too." Katara said, wavering slightly. She looked shocked at her own tone. Perhaps she wasn't as convinced as she'd like to believe she was; that thought disturbed her.

"I don't want to lose you. I never want to lose you."

He closed the physical distance between them in their tiny room, and drew her close; for the first time since he had awoken from his frozen slumber, he felt the weight of his true age, the weight of his hundred years and more pressing down on him. She did not resist his touch, but she didn't return his embrace.

They had a few seconds left; it was either rescue Katara, and lose the village, or it was the other unimagineable choice.

But did she? Aang wondered. He had chosen her once in a holy temple, beside a holy man who had despaired for the world because of the path he had chosen. He had chosen her again, in a crystalline cave, nearly destroying himself and all hope for her sake. She did not know this.

What she knows now, is that he will sacrifice her if it meant saving the world.

"I know." she repeated; she really did.

Aang crushed her soft hair against his deceptively boyish cheek, and knew the loneliness of being a god.

* * *

_  
Now_

* * *

His eyes opened slowly; the line in his forehead, strange for one who still looked so youthful, betrayed his troubled thoughts.

"Tok." he said quietly, reaching out to touch the monk next to him.

"Tok, return to the world." he commanded, more firmly.

A moment later, the other man, clad in saffron robes stirred. He looked at Aang expectantly.

"I am needed somewhere else. For as long as I am gone, I place our brothers and sisters in your care." the Avatar instructed.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I do not know."

"Does this have to do with the message you received the other day from the Fire Lord?" the man asked evenly; his family had been decimated years ago by a vicious group of Fire Nation soldiers. His voice bore no hatred; he had long forsaken that road.

"Perhaps. It is the vision I had just been presented with that troubles me." Aang said, beginning to stand up. "Defend yourselves if you need to."

"What would we need defence from?" the other man asked. "Our enemies were vanquished by you three years ago."

"No. No, they were not."

The other monk thought Aang looked regretful as he looked down at the circle of meditating men and women . Shrugging, he closed his eyes, resuming his path into the spirit world, trying to locate the bright flares, spirits of potential Air Nomads still floating in the outside world, who were unaware that there was now a place for them.

The Avatar sighed and left the courtyard where the monks were deep in their trances. Momo leapt onto his shoulder from a branch above, and he absently reached over and petted the furry mammal. With a mental beckon, he called for Appa.

* * *

Katara was running so hard, her lungs felt as if they were about to explode. Behind her, the sounds of pursuit drew nearer. Even though she was surrounded by the swamp filled with the very element that defined her, she did not stop to try and defend herself. It was no use against the half dozen or so behind her, who were each as skilled as she was.

Her pants came fast and short, the air burning her throat as she gasped for breath. Sweat stung her eyes that looked wildly about for any path that looked safe enough to bear her away. Her feet kept slipping into the soft bog, sinking and sucking at her as she fled. She cursed herself for having ever considered taking this 'short cut'; cursed her own arrogance in believing that no odds could surmount her trek through the Earth Kingdom Swamp. She was after all, practically a Master in Water Bending. What could go wrong?

At first, when she had stumbled upon the settlement deep inside the green wood, she had assumed the people would be as friendly as the natives herself and her friends had encountered back in their travels. Unfortunately, for her, not only did they not respond to her greeting, it appeared that normal speech escaped them. What did not escape the group, consisting mostly of men, was that she was young and female. Katara tried not to think of what would have happened to her, had she not been quicker with her wits.

She missed the Cat Gator sneaking close to her, concealed because it looked like the very ground. Suddenly, large jaws opened next to her legs; yelping in shock, she stumbled forwards and tripped over a concealed branch. Her cry turned pain-filled as she felt sinews stretch in ways they were not meant to, and the twist of bone. The Cat Gator, startled by the noise she had made had withdrawn into the murky depths of a pool next to her. There was a moment where Katara sat in near silence, wincing in pain, before she heard the sounds of foliage exploding around her.

Looking up in resignation, what she saw shocked her more than any amorous forest dweller would have. Aang sat atop Appa, sending a wind storm down to clear the path between herself and him through the tree tops. Just as she was about to grin in relief, clammy, dirty hands reached out and grabbed her. Filled with re-newed hope for her life, Katara forced her mind to cooperate and drew up thin ropes of water, turning them into lassos which tightened around her captor's necks.

Caught by surprise that their prey fought back, it took them a moment to employ their own skills in order to prevent death by choking. By then of course, Aang had helpfully air lifted the Water Bender, onto his mount.

"Do I want to know what you were doing in there?" Aang asked wryly. To Appa, he said, "Yip, yip."

The gentle gargantuam beast immediately begin to sail away from the woods where the men were beginning to aim crude spears at the animal's soft belly.

"I thought a vacation would be nice; water, trees, kind native people...what more could one ask for?" she asked, before collapsing bonelessly within the leather saddle, trying to catch her breath. After a while, she tilted her head towards the monk, seated in his customery position right behind Appa's ears.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"Vision." he replied, looking back at her quickly with a small smile.

Katara smiled back and closed her eyes. A minute later, Aang heard the soft sound of her snores.

* * *

_  
Two years ago_

* * *

The man sputtered indignantly, shocked that the wine in his cup had chosen to defy gravity and crash into his face. Behind him, Katara sat stone faced, ignoring the commotion around herself and Aang, who was looking appalled.

"Katara, what..."

"Did you not hear what he was saying about Zuko?" she interrupted with an irate hiss.

"Do you blame people for hating the Fire Nation for decades of oppression?" Aang whispered back.

"Zuko helped to end that oppression!"

"And he was also a Fire Prince who ruthlessly cut down everything and everyone in his path to help his father win the war once." Aang pointed out, still trying to make Katara see reason.

Looking at the anger in her eyes however, reminded him of the anger she once had for the former Prince, now Fire Lord - and how that had changed so drastically over the course of a few days. A part of him, he hated to admit, was still incredibly jealous of those few days Katara and Zuko had spent alone, during which he had no part in. It did not make things easier to watch the furtive looks and the lingering touches between the Water Bender and Zuko after he had returned from his showdown with Ozai.

But, he always reasoned, Katara chose him. Katara kissed Aang outside the teahouse that night. What did he ever have to worry about?

"He almost died for me," Katara said, tone softening as a faraway look graced her features.

A good man would have told her that he would die for her too, if that was what it took to keep her safe. He'd live for her and only her.

A good man would have meant it.

The Avatar could not afford to do any of that.

* * *

_Now_

* * *

Aang landed softly on the flagstones of Zuko's courtyard. Climbing into the leather saddle, he gently lifted Katara into his arms, careful not to wake her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see guards rushing forwards; Zuko was among them.

With a nimble leap, he was on the ground.

"Is she alright?" Zuko asked, stopping before him.

"A few cuts, scratches." Aang said, looking down at the woman stirring in his arms; his efforts to keep her resting were wasted, as the noise around had woken her. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Aang?" she looked confused, and squirmed. Aang put her legs back on the ground, and moved to allow her to stand on her own - which proved to be a mistake when she hissed in pain. Before he could offer his support, Zuko had stepped in, arms around her waist, ensuring her weight did not rest on her feet.

Enlightened Being or not, Aang had to remind himself not to blast the Fire Lord, leader of the most powerful nation, into oblivion.

"What did you do?" Zuko asked Katara, looking annoyed.

"Short cut?" she smiled weakly.

He snorted.

"Aang saved me. Otherwise, I might be someone's mistress in the marsh by now." Katara grimaced. The Fire Lord rolled his eyes, and shot the Avatar a grateful smile.

"Thank you." he said sincerely. "And welcome. We have much to discuss."

"Yes, Fire Lord. Indeed we do." Aang could not stop himself from sounding slightly bitter as he watched the two of them before him. Katara seemed embarrassed, holding herself a little stiffly against Zuko.

The Fire Lord wavered for a moment, caught off guard by the hostility the Avatar emanated. Then he turned and summoned men to see to Appa's care.

"Come. The day grows into night, and disaster is awaiting us." he said, turning back to the tattooed monk and beckoning.

Zuko turned, the Water Tribe woman limping and still in his arms, with Aang trailing behind, sulking as a teenage boy did, rather than acting like the most powerful being in the world.

* * *

_  
One year and nine months ago  
_

* * *

"I've been thinking of returning to the Air Temple of my youth. I think...I suspect, that there are Air Benders still out there," Aang said, nibbling on his rice.

"How will you find them?" Katara asked, chewing on a piece of fried cabbage.

"I think if I venture into the spirit world, I might find something." Aang explained.

The young woman nodded thoughtfully.

"When shall we leave?" she asked.

"Katara...I was thinking that perhaps, this is something I need to do alone." Aang said, and held his breath. He silently begged her not to believe his lie.

She looked up; there was a hurt gleam in her eyes. The deceptively boyish monk was hopeful.

"If that is truly how you feel, then so be it." she replied, and resumed her eating.

Two days later, Aang left for the Air Temples with Momo and Appa. Katara watched until he became a speck in the distant skyline, and then watched a little longer; finally, she picked up her travelling satchel and picked a direction.

* * *

_Now_

* * *

"Are we all comfortable?" Zuko asked the room where everyone had been summoned to.

Sokka sat next to Katara, also minorly injured. There were bruises around his face, which had caused her to shriek in concern and fling herself at him despite her sore ankle. They had not had a chance to discuss the circumstances for each of their predicaments, as the General had spotted Aang, and a joyous reunion of sorts of had taken place. Momo scrambled excitedly up and down the room, chirping happily.

Mai was quiet in her chair, watching Ty Lee, who had arrived the week before; the girl had yet to say a word to the noblewomen, and wore dark coloured clothes all the time. Gone were the flamboyant, loose tunics. In their place were tight fitted, functional shirts and breeches, clothes that facilitated quick movement for action.This had been disquieting to everyone who had known the cheerful girl in her youth, who loved her pretty pinks and her flattering clothes. What perhaps, was the worst aspect of this drastic difference, was her monsyllabic words, dull tones and dead eyes. Her childhood friend found herself quite unwilling to approach her, but for the sake of their long standing relationship.

"Katara?" Zuko could not help but ask the young woman, who was propped up in an impossible amount of cushions. She flushed and nodded quickly, while her brother giggled, breaking his serious demeanour; Aang scowled. Mai resolutely ignored the situation, despite the way the Fire Lord flicked a quick, guilt ridden look at her.

"Good. Ozai will now tell us what he knows of Azula's 'army', and how we can destroy them."

Only Katara looked shocked as the former Phoenix King strode into the study, followed by two stern faced jailors.


End file.
